Well, I picked this up a couple days ago and have had the chance to work through all of the material in this book. So, here's my opinion.

The first chapter, titled "Utilities", deals with two items. The first is the "Middle Finger Backclip", a utility concealment that is used throughout the book. The description is excellent and very thorough. If you are not familiar with this concealment, you will be able to learn it here. The next item is called the "Holster Holdout", and it is a very practical single-coin holdout for casual situations. Very nice idea!

Chapter two, called "Coins That go Across", starts off with a bang. "4 Coins, Your Hands" is spectacular. You may have heard people talking about this routine recently. It is a very clean coins across that happens entirely in the spectator's hands. This one I will be immediately adding to my repertoire. "Three Way Crossing" is next, and it is also very nice. It happens in your hands, but it is very clean. Even though I liked "Three Way Crossing", the next item, "Coinvention Crossing" is incredibly visual. It utilizes a ruse popularized by Geoff Latta and Homer Liwag that is simply eye-popping(Roger Klause also did something like this). In a nutshell, you visibly toss a coin from your left hand(which is holding two coins) to your right hand(holding one coin), but when you open your hands, the coin never went. You still have two coins in your left hand and one in your right. Those of you who like Homer Liwag's "Four Coins and a Filipino" or Chris Kenner's "The Deep" will love this. The next routine, "C/S/B Assault", is also something I really liked. I, like Dan, never like the other C/S/B routines that exposed the extra set of coins. The routine I have been developing was based on the work of James Lewis and Cody Fisher, both of whom have fantastic routines for this. Dan's routine solves almost all of the problems inherent with this effect, and gets the magic into the spectator's hands. This is something I am going to be putting some work into as well. Fantastic routine!

The next chapter, "Coins that Appear and Vanish", deals with routines that...well, read the title! The first piece, called "Barley Hop" it perfect for a Bar setting. It is basically a "Hopping Half" routine that ends with a surprise production of...won't spoil the surprise here, just buy the book! Anybody who frequents or works at a bar or pub will like this. "Simple Four Coin Production" is just that. A simple but deceptive way to produce four coins. Would be a nice way to frame any four coin routine, if you don't already do a production like this. "Fingertip Sticky Coins" is a nice little effect. With a nice presentation, this would be a nice addition to a three coin vanish/reproduction sequence. The last effect in the book is "3 Try". I really like this as well. It is a great way to frame any version of the Townsend Visible Coins Across effect. You can see a video of it at Dan's site, http://www.coinvanish.com . It is a great 3 coin vanish/reproduction that takes you right into the Visible Coins Across.

The last part of the book is something a lot of authors forget. The credits. Dan's credits are complete and very helpful. Thank you, Dan for doing the right thing!

All in all, this is a fantastic book. Very rarely do I get excited about a new product. I almost never write reviews, either. But this book is fantastic, and I thought you guys should hear more about it. It is full of workers, and from the details in handling Dan gives you and the audience management tips he gives you, you can tell these routines have been used in the real world. If coin magic is your thing, buy this. You won't be disappointed. Just do it now. It's wonderful. What are you still doing here? Go get it!

stevie1Regular user
perth,australia
180 Posts

Posted: Jan 19, 2005 04:33 am

0

Thanks for such a nice review Karl,well done mate.
I've mentioned on another thread that am looking forward to getting a copy of this,so really enjoyed your thoughts on it.Sounds great Dan and will get a copy soon,once my wallet recovers a lil from my wifes Xmas shopping spree.

Dan WatkinsInner circle
PA
3025 Posts

Posted: Jan 19, 2005 08:35 am

0

Karl,

Thank your for such nice comments. I appreciate you taking the time to do this. It was a pleasant suprise. I hope the routines work out very well for you. They have served me well over the last few years.

Sincerely,

Dan

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Karl MillerElite user
494 Posts

Posted: Jan 19, 2005 09:04 pm

0

Dan- The pleasure was all mine. Thank you for sharing such fantastic work!